I imagined this would be the headline coming out of a recent Far Cry 3 event: Tiger mauls eight journalists. It’s hard not to feel that way after reading recent news stories and seeing Shere Khan pacing back and forth… Continue Reading →

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I imagined this would be the headline coming out of a recentFar Cry 3 event: Tiger mauls eight journalists. It’s hard not to feel that way after reading recent news stories and seeing Shere Khan pacing back and forth behind bars. But I put the remote danger of the tiger knocking the small steel cage over, lunging at my colleagues and eating my foot in the back of my mind.
At the preview session, I spent a four hours with Ubisoft Montreal’s follow-up to the nihilistic shooter. Far Cry 2 rebooted the series away from Jack Carver and the sci-fi ghetto and took it in a new directions. After a positive critical reaction, the team likely figured it was going in the right direction.
That’s why Far Cry 3 is more like the sequel than the original. It’s gritty. It’s dark. But not all traces of the first game is removed -- it's set on a tropical island. The developers put players in the role of Jason Grant, who is celebrating with family and friends on a remote island. They're sky diving, drinking and horsing around on the beach. The next thing you know: Jason Brody and his brother, Grant, are captured in cage with their lives at a knife's point.
Here are seven thoughts about what happens afterward and how Far Cry 3 is shaping up.
Playing poker seems like one of the man diversions in the game. There's also knife throwing at a target for money.1. This reminds me a lot of The Beach. And no, I’m not talking about the Leonardo DiCaprio flick. It’s closer to the Alex Garland novel that the movie was based on. It deals with similar ideas about tourists in the Pacific and the dark underbelly of what seemed to be a tropical paradise.
Immediately, after Grant and Jason free themselves from Vaas’ prison. Players crawl through his armed camp, sneaking through marijuana farms and seeing bodies hung up like cattle. Like its predecessor, this game deals with mature subject matter. My first impression of Vaas is that he’s crazy and ruthless but also charismatic.
There are a few other characters in the game that remind me of ones in the book like Dr. Earnhardt, someone who specializes in magic mushrooms. Far Cry 3 also has that tribal aspect that’s part of the Garland novel. There are two major factions: Vaas drug army and native rebels trying to get their archipelago back.
It's going to be interesting seeing Jason's transformation into Rambo.2. It’s a game about contrasts. It’s hard not to notice when the intro has Jason Brody and company gallivanting around one second and being in a dark prison the next. Ubisoft Montreal seems to double down on the differences showing how it’s Grant, a former soldier, who is the combat specialist. He knows how to kill people during the escape. Meanwhile, Jason (the player) is newbie to the whole stabbing-people-in-the face thing.
It seems like Jason, who was a rich, spoiled kid, will grow into his role of hardened island killer. The native Rakyat tribe on the island think so. They believe he’s a warrior that will lead them to victory over Vaas.
That’s probably because of the tattoos he has on his arm. It’s how Far Cry 3 shows off a players development. Throughout the campaign, Jason will earn experience points and he can use them to upgrade his abilities in three categories: Shark, Heron and Spider. Each animal represents a skill tree that emphasizes different elements about survival.
For example, the Shark branch is focused on healing abilities and takedowns while Heron zeroes in on boosts to long range attacks. To be more specific, that can be anything from a boost to health syringes to unlocking a sprint slide that can take out foes. Those choices are reflected in the tattoos on Jason’s arm.
The same fire tech will return in the sequel. Flames spread naturally.3. There’s a bit of Assassin’s Creed in the gameplay. Jason does manage to escape the camp by running into the jungle. In the mad rush, he falls into the river, and in a way, that's how he's baptized into the violence. Jason almost dies, but he’s rescued by another transplant islander named Dennis. He sets him up in Amanaki Town, which is the safe zone where the free villagers mingle. It’s also the hub where Jason gets missions, purchases weapons and plays minigames.
But what’s interesting is that none of the map is revealed in the beginning. It’s all blacked out because Vaas is jamming radio towers scattered throughout the island. Whenever players enter a new sector, the first thing they have to do is climb the structure a la Altair. There’s usually something broken down and Jason will have to find alternate routes up there such as jumping a ledge or walk along planks.
Get to the top, they get a beautiful view and unlock the map showing where the animals are and other objectives. This is almost like climbing to the tower to sync with the world inAssassin’s Creed. Afterward, they can hope down a zip line to the ground. These cables are everywhere on the island, and they save a ton of time. Use them.
You may see a deer here, but experienced players see a nice addition to their rucksack.4. Hunting and foraging are vital to survival. I cannot emphasize this enough. Grab all the flowers you can hold and kill any animal you see. Far Cry 3 is difficult and part of the reason is that there are limits to what you can carry. That's why it’s important to build a bigger rucksack. The same goes for money. Players can hold a limited amount of cash until they craft a bigger one. A small billfold prevents them from purchasing better gear like a bow and arrow or that upgrade attachment for your rifle.
The concept is so important it’s one of the first few missions spent on the game. You don’t immediately go kill the nearest Vaas outpost. Searching the wilderness for flowers and other plants builds up ingredients used for syringes. These drugs can heal players. (They’ll do that often, especially when health regenerates up to a certain amount without medicine.) The plants also create syringe power-ups that improve hunting (animals will be more visible) or boost endurance to burns.
Tigers are powerful and they can cause havoc in Far Cry 3.5. The island is full of all sorts of randomness. Here’s an example of some of bizarre things that happen in Far Cry 3: I was attacking an outpost. Scouting out the camp, I figured my best bet would be to shoot open the cage of a bear. That beast would cause enough havoc in the camp and that would allow me to sneak over and shoot out the alarm and then take out the rest of the survivors.
It was perfect. But when I fired, things just blew up in my face. Out of nowhere, a tiger walked into camp. I thought yes, this is going to be awesome. More animals mauling hapless soldiers. Unfortunately, the tiger attacked the bear and my plan was fubar. Apparently, virtual bears and tigers don’t like each other and would rather rip each other’s throats out than say kill the men gunning them down with AK47s.
It's better to attack in the shadows than be out front killing people like Rambo.6. Like in Far Cry 2, being Rambo in this game will get you killed fast. After climbing a radio tower and doing a few side missions to get their feet wet, players will have to attack outposts to expand their power and open up new guns in their arsenal. There are story-based missions elsewhere in the map, but unlocking these enemy-guarded compounds is important for A) fast traveling and B) general piece of mind because natives control an area and reduce the enemy presence. (Side note: Players won’t have to trudge through miles of wilderness. They can just press start and go to the place they want any time they want.)
But to take these outposts, players have to scout. It’s best to do this with the camera that Jason has. Press up on the D-pad opens it up and he can identify snipers, soldiers and leaders around the base. Next, players need to figure out a plan to infiltrate the compound. There are usually clues on how best to proceed. A open hole in the fence is one. A caged animal is another.
It’s best to take out enemies silently so they don’t all come rushing out at you. Distraction via throwing a rock is a good way to lure guards away from their patrols so you can off them in the shadows. It’s also better to use melee attacks or silent weapons like that bow and arrow to elminate them. For insurance, find the alarm and destroy it so troops can't call reinforcements.
Players are graded on how they clear an outpost. They can get 550 XP for going through a level without raising an alarm and 1500 XP for beating it without being detected.
The bow and arrow is vital for survival. It's also a trendy weapon right now.7. Getting off the island. As for the plot, Jason seems to be reluctant to be the Rakyat's savior. He's more concerned about find his younger brother, Riley, and his friends before fleeing the island. Unfortunately, they've all been captured by Vaas and so he'll have to search for them through shark-infested waters and jungles swarming with tigers.
Far Cry 3 is scheduled for release Dec. 4.
BONUS POINTS
Don't forget to loot corpses in the game. Enemies often have items that can be sold. It's actually fun to see what they have. They can be pretty bizarre sometimes. I mean who keeps a half smoked cigarette on them?
Images courtesy of UbisoftWant to know what Gieson Cacho is playing? Follow him on Twitter. ]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/10/10/seven-thoughts-about-far-cry-3/feed/0VaasFC3_GC2012_Pokerhands_logoFC3_GC2012_FlammeThrower_logoFC3_GC2012_Sniper_Fire_logoIMG_20121003_141310FC3_GC2012_Sniper_logoFC3_GC2012_Hunting_PantherlogoBy: TwitterButtons.com